Thank you to all of you that completed our recent customer survey. Our aim was to get as much feedback as possible from our customers in terms of how we can improve our offering.

We asked the question ‘In a convenience store how important to you are the following factors’. The results, in order of priority, were:

Being able to purchase quality local produce

Range i.e. being able to find everything you need

Presentation and the ambience of the shop

Price

Being able to purchase premium products.

Having taken this feedback onboard, and with an awareness that the shop is due some TLC, we thought it would be a good time to review whether Londis are the best symbol group for us before we invest money into store development.

We have spoken to a range of symbol groups including NISA, One-Stop, Co-Op, Spar and Londis (despite requests we didn’t contact either Harrods or Hooters!) about how we can best meet our customer’s demands and improve our store. After lots of meetings, and visits to other stores, we have concluded that the best fit, by some distance, is Spar. The reasoning for this:

They are happy for us to use as many other local suppliers as we like

We will receive deliveries of fresh and chilled goods 6 days a week. This includes fruit & veg, dairy, meat, ready meals, bakery products etc.

We can order today for delivery tomorrow. We are currently working off a 3 day lead time for fresh deliveries so we can’t react as quickly to keep the shelves stocked.

They work alongside local growers, and are based in North Preston, so the time from local field, or producer, to the shelf will be vastly reduced.

We can order items in singles, instead of in outers of 6 or 12 as is currently the case. This will allow us to not only widen our range without incurring a lot of wastage but will ensure that all these perishable products are much fresher.

Whilst price was not a priority according to our survey results, we are very keen that we are competitive on price, and that we can continue to offer a range of discounted lines. Having undertaken a number of price comparisons we are confident that we can at least match, if not better, our current pricing with Londis.

In terms of changes to the layout of the store:

Introduction of more fresh fruit & veg, with a bigger more prominent display

Bread and morning goods, such as pastries and croissants, freshly baked in store.

An increased range of all fresh goods, with the addition of more refrigeration.

The shop will also be a more comfortable environment (which will hopefully please the staff, as well as the customers) – Doors are being added to open fronted fridges to increase the temperature in store.

A new floor and LED lighting throughout, to improve the ambience of the shop.

The development is scheduled to start on Monday 12th Oct, and all being well, we will launch fully as a Spar store on Saturday 24th Oct. We will continue to trade through the development, but will have to close completely for 3 days (Wed 14th to Fri 16th Oct inclusive).

Newspaper deliveries will not be affected and will continue uninterrupted.

If you have any questions please drop us a line. We hope you will come and check out the store once finished, and look forward to seeing you.